“FOOTBALLERS TAKING YOU HOME”: 20 ballers who went on to drive a taxi after retirement
Taxi divers are used to picking up people from all professions, the rich, the famous, heroes, and villains; taxi drivers all over the world have had them all in the back of their cabs at one time or another. But what happens when the tables are turned and you find yourself driven by one of your footballing heroes?
Here are 20 former professional footballers who swapped the noise of the crowd for the noise of intoxicated passengers asking them “have you been busy?”
Trevor Aylott: Trevor started his football career as a product of the Chelsea youth set-up in 1975, before making his first team debut in 1976. He went on to play for Barnsley, Millwall, Luton Town, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Birmingham City, Oxford United and Gillingham.
Trevor retired from football in the mid 90s and went on to become a cabbie.
John Bumstead: John Bumstead, like Trevor Aylott, was also a product of the Chelsea youth system, making his league debut in 1978 at the age of 20.
John went on to make 409 appearances, and scoring 44 goals from midfield, in all competitions for Chelsea, before moving to Charlton where he made 56 appearances, scoring 3 goals, before hanging up his boots to drive a taxi.
John Sitton: 60 year old John Sitton started life on both Arsenal and Chelsea's youth team books. The uncompromising defender then went on to make his debut for Chelsea in 1977. He also played for Millwall, Gillingham and Leyton Orient, where he was made club captain by Frank Clark in 1995.
In 1997 John signed onto The Knowledge and passed to become a London taxi driver in 2003.
Steve Potts: US born Steve Potts spent most of his playing career at West Ham. The 52 year old made more than 500 appearances for the Hammers in all competitions, scoring a single goal during his West Ham career, in a 7-1 win against Hull.
The full-back completed The Knowledge and became a licensed London taxi driver in 2007.
Micky Hazard: Sunderland born central midfielder, played for both Chelsea and spurs. He played in Spur’s 1982 FA Cup final as well as the 1984 UEFA Cup final against Anderlecht, where he had an assist in goals by Paul Miller in the first leg and Graham Roberts in the second leg to leave the tie ending after a 2-2 on aggregate draw, which Spurs eventually won 4-3 on penalties.
The central midfielder became a London cabbie in 2006.
Jimmy Glass: Jimmy Glass, a former Carlisle United goalkeeper, who scored quite possibly, the most important goal in the club's history.
It was at Carlisle, where he was on loan, that he made history by scoring a 90th minute winner against Plymouth Argyle, thus keeping Carlisle in the league on the back of that 2-1 win, relegating Scarborough to Conference football.
Jimmy is now a taxi driver in Dorset, and runs a taxi firm in Wimborne, Minster, but in a previous life wrote himself into footballing folklore.
Peter Shreeve: Welshman, Peter Shreeve, was born in 1940. Never recognised for pulling up many trees as a player, Shreeve, an old style inside-forward played for Reading, making 113 appearances and scoring 17 goals between 1959 and 1966. He also played for Wimbledon.
Shreeve undertook The Knowledge to become a licensed London cabbie after breaking his leg against Grimsby in the late 50s, at the same time he also took his FA coaching badge at Lilleshall.
Derek Richardson: Derek Richardson played for Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday and Coventry. He later played non-League football with Maidstone United, Welling United and Fisher Athletic, before becoming a London taxi driver.
Gary Mason: 40 year old Gary Mason started life as a midfielder with Manchester City, making 19 appearances for the side. He then moved to Hartlepool on loan, before joining Dunfermline, where he played 204 times, scoring 9 goals, before being shipped out to St Mirren, Hamilton and then back to Dunfermline. He made in total 365 appearances, scoring 13 goals.
Gary has now retired from the game and is plying his trade as a taxi driver in a small fishing town near Edinburgh.
Willie Fernie: Willie started out at Celtic in 1950, scoring 47 goals in 194 appearances for the hoops, winning the league and cup double and 2 Scottish league cups.
In 1958 he joined Middlesbrough, partnering Brian Clough up front, who at the time was the most potent striker in the country scoring an incredible 197 goals in just 213 appearances. He then eventually became a taxi driver, sadly passing away in 2011, aged 82, after suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
Gary Johnson: 59 year old Gary Johnson started his career at Chelsea as a forward, making 19 league appearances between 1977 and 1981, scoring 9 goals in his time at the blues.
He went on to play for Brentford before a car crash effectively finished his career, although he did have a resurgence at Aldershot, as well as playing in South Africa before hanging up his boots to become a London cabbie.
Alan Dickens: 54 year old Alan Dickens was dubbed the natural successor to Trevor Brooking in his time at West Ham. The England Under-21 international made 192 league appearances for The Hammers before moving to Chelsea.
The midfielder made 48 appearances for the west London club before ending up at Brentford and Colchester. Dickens made a total of 290 league appearances, scoring 29 goals. After retirement from football, Dicken became a London cabbie.
Alex Cropley: Cropley, a midfielder, started his career at Hibernian, before completing a move to Arsenal in 1974. He made just 30 appearances for the Gunners before being sold to Aston Villa, where he picked up a league cup winners medal. Cropley also played for Newcastle on Loan and Portsmouth.
He now plies his trade as a cabbie in Edinburgh. Cropley scored 41 goals in 228 league appearances.
David Price: 64 year old David Price was a stalwart at Arsenal who played alongside Alex Cropley. He made 126 appearances for the north London club, winning a FA Cup winners medal in 1979.
He was sold to Crystal Palace, which saw Peter Nicholas moving to Arsenal from Palace as part of the deal, eventually finishing his career at Leyton Orient. Price, who now drives a minicab, made a career total of 169 league appearances, scoring 19 goals.
Colin Cramb: The much travelled Colin Cramb was your archetypal journeyman player. He appeared on the books of 16 different clubs, including Southampton, Hamilton, Hearts, Bristol City and Dutch side, Fortuna Sittard.
45 year old Cramb made a career total of 448 appearances, finding the net 125 times playing up front. Cramb drives a taxi in his local area.
Neil Shipperley: The 44 year old made 446 league appearances as an old-fashioned, uncompromising centre-forward, scoring 119 goals in his career.
Shipperley started his career as youth player at Chelsea, making 37 first team appearances before moving to Southampton, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Barnsley, Wimbledon, Sheffield United and Brentford. He has since completed The Knowledge to became a London cabbie.
Johnny Key: Johnny Key was a former Fulham, Coventry and Leyton Orient Winger. Key, now 81, made 201 appearances, scoring 36 goals.
Whilst suffering from an injury in 1968, Key decided to do The Knowledge. After passing in a year and a day, he hung up his boots and became a full time London taxi driver, retiring in 2002.
Terry Oldfield: Born in Bristol in 1939, Terry Oldfield started his career as a youth at Bristol City. He moved up the road to Bristol Rovers, making 132 appearances for "The Pirates" before moving to Wrexham, where he made a further 40 appearances.
After retiring from football due to a knee injury at the age of 28, Oldfield eventually became a taxi driver via a number of different jobs. Sadly, Oldfield passed away in 2018, aged 78.
Davie Hagen: Former Rangers, Hearts and Falkirk midfielder Davie Hagen became a cabbie after retiring from football in 2007. Hagen made a career total of 333 appearances in a 6 club career, which also took in Livingston, Clyde and Peterhead, scoring 29 goals.
Fred Callaghan: 74 year old Fred Callaghan was a Fulham left-back, who was described as "tough-tackling defender”.
Callaghan was a one-team-man, making 295 appearances for Fulham and scoring 9 goals. After retirement he went on to do The Knowledge and become a taxi driver.
Original article written by Steve Kenton. Edited by Michael Murphy.
